Freedom Is The Slogan Of

Throughout Early Modernity There Were Very Strong Pressures On Jews To Assimilate. Assimilating Meant Cutting Your Ties With The Community Of Origin.

There Are Other Ways Of Finding Satisfaction, Recipes For Human Happiness, Enjoyment, Dignified And Meaningful, Gratifying Life, Than Increased Consumption That Increases Production.

If You Look Back On The History Of The 20th Century, The 19th Century Or Even To The Ancien Régime Of The 18th, You Will See That First People Rebelled Against The Order Of The Things Because Of Lack Of Liberty, And Demanded More Freedom. And When They Got More Freedom, They Got Frightened, And They Desired More Security For A Change. After A While, They Started Complaining, Although More Secure, They Also Become More Dependent And Rule-bound.

As Long As Being A Stranger And Surrounded By Strangers Was Seen As A Temporary Irritant, A Smallest Departure From The Binding Rules Of Conduct By A Member Of A Minority, Was Taken For A Major Crime Justifying Deportation.

The Carrying Power Of A Bridge Is Not The Average Strength Of The Pillars, But The Strength Of The Weakest Pillar. I Have Always Believed That You Do Not Measure The Health Of A Society By Gnp But By The Condition Of Its Worst Off.